Sens put fear into the Habs

The Ottawa Senators accomplished something small but significant on Friday night at the Bell Centre.

They shifted "the pressure" to the Montreal Canadiens.

"When we were facing elimination the pressure was on us," said Senators' coach Dave Cameron. "Each day you win to play another day, the pressure shifts to Montreal."

Well mission accomplished.

Playing game six at the Canadian Tire Centre was the last thing the Canadiens wanted to do. And if they can't put the Senators away in that one, the weight of the world will be on their shoulders to win game seven at home.

Much like their late push this season, a lot of things seem to be falling in place at precisely the right time for the Senators.

Bobby Ryan had been criticized heavily for his play through the first four games of the series. He showed up in game five scoring twice and seemed relieved to have contributed.

"Obviously it's a not secret I've been pressing, I was very frustrated with myself as well as everyone around me so it's a relief, hopefully a step forward and you hope they continue to roll," said Ryan post game.

Andrew Hammond let in some soft goals through the first two games of the series. In steps Craig Anderson and he looks like he did two years ago when these two teams last met in the playoffs. Anderson has stopped 120 shots of the 123 that he's faced.

"I'm just trying to find the puck as much as I can, the guys in front of me are doing a good job of letting the guys have one shot," said Anderson. "Right now I'm getting a little lucky."

The formula has worked for the Senators. Dig yourself a hole and climb out of it in improbable fashion when everyone has counted you out of it. It has worked in the past, so why not believe it could happen again?

"We've had that quiet confidence for the better part of two months now," said Ryan. "There's just a belief that we're going to come out and be successful."

What happens in Game Six will say a lot about the Montreal Canadiens. They have showed resolve in the past and can be just as resilient as the "pesky Sens." Ottawa has dealt admirably with the pressure of being down 3-0, we'll see how the Canadiens handle the pressure of potentially being one of the few teams in sports history to surrender a 3-0 series lead.

Two games, two wins for the Habs

For a second straight game, the Senators let an opportunity to slip away.

Heading into game two at the Bell Centre, so many questions needed to be answered from a Senators perspective. And every answer, was the right one yet they lost anyways. 

Would Andrew Hammond be able to bounce back after a subpar game one performance? 

Hammond was fine in game two, just not good enough to win. He made 39 saves and gave his team a chance. None of the goals that beat him looked great, but Hammond made several point blank saves and didn't make things easy for the Habs. Most importantly, Ottawa didn't have to turn to Craig Anderson and can easily stick with Hammond confidently for game three at the Canadian Tire Centre. 

"It's hard to take moral victories at this time of year, generally you're judge by wins and losses," said Hammond postgame.

Would Mark Stone be available, how limited would he be?

Mark Stone played and was a factor in the game. Picking up two assists, he was more than effective and more importantly the Senators weren't forced to dress Chris Neil. That said, he didn't take any shots AT the net, let alone on the net. The Canadiens will probably be cheating to the passing lanes and giving him the open shots in game three. Stone also took a few hefty slashes from Brendan Gallagher during the game. 

"It was up to me, I went out for warm ups and felt healthy enough to help the team," said Stone postgame. 

Would the Senators be able to stay disciplined, or would the elevated emotions from game one creep into game two?

Ottawa in no way looked like a team that was distracted or frustrated. But they still took too many penalties. If they give the Canadiens another six powerplay opportunities in the next game, they'll score more than once. But since they were "hockey" and not "stupid" penalties, they get a pass. 

"Penalties we took were in the normal course of action, both teams were in control which I pretty much expected they would be," coach Dave Cameron postgame. 

There's no question that the Senators are now in trouble. Their season is on the line in game three and it's starting to look like the miracle run is coming to an abrupt halt and midnight is about to strike. 

"We've been a never say die to for the last three months," said Stone. 

- Mitchy.